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Joined: November 19 2005
Location: New Jersey
Status: Offline
Points: 10964
Posted: April 02 2013 at 13:01
Evolver wrote:
darkshade wrote:
Finally got around to listening to Playground Psychotics for the first time yesterday. It was enjoyable, had that Mystery Disc/Lost Episodes vibe with all the field recordings. However, the version of Billy The Mountain on there seemed superior to the original JABFLA version.
Been going through the albums I still need, so what are your opinions on the recent albums from the last few years?
Philly '76 Hammersmith Odeon Carnegie Hall Feeding the Monkies At Ma Masion Road Tapes Vol. 1 Finer Moments
I have Finer Moments, and it is quite enjoyable album. I don't have any of the others above, though I've listened to HO once over a year ago. I don't like that Carnegie Hall has a Persuasions set before FZ's two shows, and it's a more expensive album, so I haven't been trying to get it in any rush.
I'm looking to get Buffalo but also another from the list above. Which would be the best one to get first?
I have them all. Each has their own merits, but it depends on which era you like best to determine which disk to purchase.
In my opinion, Finer Moments, while good, is the least important of the above list.
I enjoy all eras of Zappa, I'm more partial to mid-late 70s bands for live stuff. I like Ahead of Their Time and YCDTOSA Vol 5 disc 1, and I feel Finer Moments complements those albums. I've read that Road Tapes is very good. Hammersmith Odeon also has the Adrien Belew/Bozzio/O' Hearn/Mars lineup which I enjoy as well.
Joined: November 19 2005
Location: New Jersey
Status: Offline
Points: 10964
Posted: April 10 2013 at 17:44
What's everyone's opinions on the Beat The Boots albums? I realized I've only listened to Piquantique, but Zappateers has the complete show in SBD on their tracker, so it's much better sound than the BTB one. I see The Ark is well rated, and again, there is a SBD of the entire show at Zappateers, so I'll be downloading that one. Which other ones are worth checking out?
I'm not really looking to sit through bad sound quality, but if the music is good enough, I'll try to find a SBD for the show.
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26133
Posted: April 10 2013 at 19:01
Beat the Boots discs to avoid:
Unmitigated Audacity: interesting show of the Roxy band playing oldies from "Freak Out", but the sound quality is horrible.
Freaks and Mother%&$&$%: Just bad sound. If you like the Flo and Eddie band by all means give it a listen but there are other much better Flo and Eddie boots in the series. The "Pallidan" routine is pretty funny though.
At the Circus: soundtrack from some Dutch TV special or something, about 1979-ish. Lots of tracks that are just them fooling around during soundcheck. And then, out of nowhere, there's 2 Flo and Eddie 1970 tracks in the middle which don't sound too good either.
All the others are at least worth hearing:
Tis the Season to be Jelly: a 1967 show with an early rendition of King Kong which segues into a super creepy avant garde electronic rendition of "It Can't Happen Here". Also has an otherwise unreleased song called "No Matter What You Do".
The Ark: vintage 1968 Mothers, highly recommended.
Electric Aunt Jemima: sound quality is not great, but musically it's one of my favorites. Mostly instrumental electric jazz madness from the late 60s Mothers. Great King Kong on this one.
Our Man in Nirvana: Another early Mothers album, pretty clear sound, hilarious spoken intro to "Valerie", and a 30 minute rendition of King Kong.
Tengo Na Minchia Tanta: early Flo and Eddie show working on the songs that would eventually make it to 200 Motels. Songs cut in and out at odd times, but it's generally pretty entertaining. Below average sound though.
Disconnected Synapses: a good jam-oriented rockin' 1970 Flo and Eddie show. Features Jean-Luc Ponty on violin for (that's right) another 30 minute King Kong. Pretty good sound too. And you get to hear how "Penis Dimension" was originally part of a longer piece that included "Bwana Dik".
Swiss Cheese/Fire! - The Montreux "Smoke on the Water" show. Decent sound, and it's the complete show. Until the house caught on fire, that is. Has a complete 20 minute "Sofa" suite, which I haven't heard anywhere else in its entirety.
Conceptual Continuity: A so-so show from 1976, with a small band including Andre Lewis, Terry Bozzio, and I think Ray White. Some good long vamps with Zappa entertaining the crowd with his Poodle story and stuff.
Edited by HolyMoly - April 10 2013 at 19:01
My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
Joined: November 19 2005
Location: New Jersey
Status: Offline
Points: 10964
Posted: April 10 2013 at 20:09
HolyMoly wrote:
Beat the Boots discs to avoid:
Unmitigated Audacity: interesting show of the Roxy band playing oldies from "Freak Out", but the sound quality is horrible.
Freaks and Mother%&$&$%: Just bad sound. If you like the Flo and Eddie band by all means give it a listen but there are other much better Flo and Eddie boots in the series. The "Pallidan" routine is pretty funny though.
At the Circus: soundtrack from some Dutch TV special or something, about 1979-ish. Lots of tracks that are just them fooling around during soundcheck. And then, out of nowhere, there's 2 Flo and Eddie 1970 tracks in the middle which don't sound too good either.
All the others are at least worth hearing:
Tis the Season to be Jelly: a 1967 show with an early rendition of King Kong which segues into a super creepy avant garde electronic rendition of "It Can't Happen Here". Also has an otherwise unreleased song called "No Matter What You Do".
The Ark: vintage 1968 Mothers, highly recommended.
Electric Aunt Jemima: sound quality is not great, but musically it's one of my favorites. Mostly instrumental electric jazz madness from the late 60s Mothers. Great King Kong on this one.
Our Man in Nirvana: Another early Mothers album, pretty clear sound, hilarious spoken intro to "Valerie", and a 30 minute rendition of King Kong.
Tengo Na Minchia Tanta: early Flo and Eddie show working on the songs that would eventually make it to 200 Motels. Songs cut in and out at odd times, but it's generally pretty entertaining. Below average sound though.
Disconnected Synapses: a good jam-oriented rockin' 1970 Flo and Eddie show. Features Jean-Luc Ponty on violin for (that's right) another 30 minute King Kong. Pretty good sound too. And you get to hear how "Penis Dimension" was originally part of a longer piece that included "Bwana Dik".
Swiss Cheese/Fire! - The Montreux "Smoke on the Water" show. Decent sound, and it's the complete show. Until the house caught on fire, that is. Has a complete 20 minute "Sofa" suite, which I haven't heard anywhere else in its entirety.
Conceptual Continuity: A so-so show from 1976, with a small band including Andre Lewis, Terry Bozzio, and I think Ray White. Some good long vamps with Zappa entertaining the crowd with his Poodle story and stuff.
Thanks Steve! I downloaded the show The Ark is from at Zappateers. I've been getting into the early Mothers stuff a lot lately. Great late night music.
Finally got around to listening to Playground Psychotics for the first time yesterday. It was enjoyable, had that Mystery Disc/Lost Episodes vibe with all the field recordings. However, the version of Billy The Mountain on there seemed superior to the original JABFLA version.
Been going through the albums I still need, so what are your opinions on the recent albums from the last few years?
Philly '76 Hammersmith Odeon Carnegie Hall Feeding the Monkies At Ma Masion Road Tapes Vol. 1 Finer Moments
I have Finer Moments, and it is quite enjoyable album. I don't have any of the others above, though I've listened to HO once over a year ago. I don't like that Carnegie Hall has a Persuasions set before FZ's two shows, and it's a more expensive album, so I haven't been trying to get it in any rush.
I'm looking to get Buffalo but also another from the list above. Which would be the best one to get first?
I have them all. Each has their own merits, but it depends on which era you like best to determine which disk to purchase.
In my opinion, Finer Moments, while good, is the least important of the above list.
I enjoy all eras of Zappa, I'm more partial to mid-late 70s bands for live stuff. I like Ahead of Their Time and YCDTOSA Vol 5 disc 1, and I feel Finer Moments complements those albums. I've read that Road Tapes is very good. Hammersmith Odeon also has the Adrien Belew/Bozzio/O' Hearn/Mars lineup which I enjoy as well.
Hammersmith Odeon sounds very good! It's expensive though! Would you know off hand...know.where I could find it at a decent price? Carnegie Hall, Feeding the Monkies, Everything is Healing Nicely, and Hammersmith are 4 titles I have never looked into purchasing..but have heard tracks from them and they are outstanding. Again...I wonder why Gale is not prepared to release the posthumous catalog of jems. The Zappa family trust released Mystery Disc, but they are leaving other vital chapters out. Please don't tell me that "It is what it is" .... I have a reputation of liking Stevie Nicks more than Jon Anderson and so it may not be in your best interest to help me. Seriously..do you know why these 4 titles are not being re-released? Do you know why there is zero information on the Zappa website regarding the future release of these particular titles? Is the sky falling? Does a bear sh-t in the woods? I mean ..you know, all those scumlords on Amazon charging astronomical amounts ..maybe some of us would hold off if we knew the cd's were going to be released again at a NORMAL price?
It's depressing that he is not with us. I would die to hear Zappa music/lyrics written around subject matters in the present day ..political news media, internet, .I would die laughing and I mean of all people, just to hear him talking about the world and the state it's in..it just kills me. He was so honest and his research and personal experiences in political debates are shocking at first and you wonder how he has such a well rehearsed answer for everything? He was interested in studying human beings reactions to the environment around them, he felt the world was contrived, he became angered and combined his humour with the anger and composed a piece or entire musical.
I thought it was strange how he repeated a series of chord progressions for almost every album that were obviously being repeated. They were generally easy to play. The old 4 bar chord change from the 50's where the progression contains majors and minors. A simple chord change evident in "Rock" music like playing an A power chord to a G power chord shape or using the grand bar ..as he so often did and he solos over top endlessly, but he is very interesting to hear when he improvises. Sometimes he went on for too long, but allowed the drummer, bassist, and keyboardist to add reflections of his guitar playing. Then everything musical surrounding these basic chord changes became Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz..influenced compositions on manuscript paper charted for each instrument. He knew what he wanted out of music and obviously had no inner doubts about his talent. That's why he didn't put up with certain musicians having lame attitudes and fired them right away. Segovia never gave anyone a second chance. If you screwed up a Classical piece in front of him..you would be dismissed. I see Zappa in the same light.
Joined: March 29 2013
Location: WA
Status: Offline
Points: 4591
Posted: April 13 2013 at 08:25
As a prog head I got into FZ by first hearing "Studio Tan", then "You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore - Vol 2 - The Helsinki Concert". After that I got, "We're Only in it for the Money" and started buying everything I could find
Joined: November 19 2005
Location: New Jersey
Status: Offline
Points: 10964
Posted: April 15 2013 at 14:59
Had nothing to do for 20 minutes, so I decided to rank the top 11 Frank Zappa albums according to their popularity here at PA. How do you feel about this list? Do you agree with it?
Album Amount of ratings Hot Rats - 817 Joe's Garage Act I, II, and III - 521 (accumulated) The Grand Wazoo - 438 One Size Fits All - 405 Apostrophe (') - 356 We're Only In It For The Money - 356 Freak Out! - 339 Over-nite Sensation - 317 Uncle Meat - 272 Absolutely Free - 268 Shiek Yer Bouti - 264
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
Posted: April 15 2013 at 15:16
darkshade wrote:
Had nothing to do for 20 minutes, so I decided to rank the top 11 Frank Zappa albums according to their popularity here at PA. How do you feel about this list? Do you agree with it?Album Amount of ratingsHot Rats - 817Joe's Garage Act I, II, and III - 521 (accumulated)The Grand Wazoo - 438One Size Fits All - 405Apostrophe (') - 356We're Only In It For The Money - 356Freak Out! - 339Over-nite Sensation - 317Uncle Meat - 272Absolutely Free - 268Shiek Yer Bouti - 264
In terms of popularity that seems fairly correct. JG is probably the biggest surprise for me just because it gets lumped in with the offensive stuff. AF is also not something I'd suspect, though it is low on the list.
Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
Joined: March 12 2005
Location: Neurotica
Status: Offline
Points: 166178
Posted: April 15 2013 at 15:20
I like it for two reasons.
1) Musically it's pretty excellent most of the time 2) I like that type of humor.
Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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Evolver wrote:
..
.. I have a reputation of liking Stevie Nicks more than Jon Anderson and so it may not be in your best interest to help me. 
Seriously..do you know why these 4 titles are not being re-released? Do you know why there is zero information on the Zappa website regarding the future release of these particular titles? Is the sky falling? Does a bear sh-t in the woods? I mean ..you know, all those scumlords on Amazon charging astronomical amounts ..maybe some of us would hold off if we knew the cd's were going to be released again at a NORMAL price? 
